Colombian federation presents proposal to lift casino restrictions

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Bogotá Mayor Claudia López hosted a conference last week to discuss the reactivation of the economy in the Colombian capital. During the meeting, the Executive Director of the Colombian National Federation of Traders (FENALCO) of Bogotá, Juan Esteban Orrego, presented five possible measures to reactivate the local economy and most recent data showing the impact that the pandemic has had on the city.

One of the five reactivation measures includes reviewing the restrictions on commercial sectors such as casinos. In addition, he proposed a priority package to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic, which would focus on the “rationalization of the tax burden and tax relief,” to allow Bogotá to meet its revenue goals.

“A quite difficult situation for the business world, but our goal as traders is to move forward, and we are working on that,” said Orrego.

He added: “Currently, 84% of businesses have implemented new sales channels (addresses, social networks, internet platforms), they have also implemented biosafety protocols endorsed by the District and today we present to the District Administration a five-step path for sustainable economic reactivation focused on meeting the goals of the development plan.” 

Furthermore, Mayor López highlighted the “Bogotá a Cielo Abierto” plan, which she said “has been essential for the economic reactivation of the city”.

During the conference, the Mayor stressed that the commercial sectors, including casinos, technology, tourism, beauty and gastronomy, “need to generate revenue. Formal trade generates taxes and informal trade generates income for families”.